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EQUIP, Christian Research Institute, The Bible Answer Man, Equip AppTue, 03 Mar 2015 04:04:13 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Does “The Son Can Do Nothing of Himself” Mean Jesus Is not God??http://www.equip.org/perspectives/does-the-son-can-do-nothing-of-himself-mean-jesus-is-not-god/
http://www.equip.org/perspectives/does-the-son-can-do-nothing-of-himself-mean-jesus-is-not-god/#commentsTue, 17 Mar 2009 19:11:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/perspectives/does-the-son-can-do-nothing-of-himself-mean-jesus-is-not-god/JESUS IS NOT GOD?!- Introduction
Cultists who deny that Jesus Christ is God commonly quote John 5:19 as proof. Jesus says, “the Son can do nothing of Himself.”

JESUS IS NOT GOD?!- John 5:19
Ironically John 5:19, in reality is a powerful proof text that confirms Jesus Christ is, in fact, God. As always, a text without a context is a pretext, so let’s look at the whole verse: He says, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19, NASB). Now, here Jesus makes some pretty strategic points. First, the Son does nothing independently of the Father. This is exactly what the doctrine of the Trinity teaches. The Trinity is not three separate Gods, working independently of one another; it is one God, with the Son doing nothing except in perfect union with the Father.

JESUS IS NOT GOD?!- Nothing that the Father wouldn’t Do
In addition, John 5:19 clearly states that the Son cannot do anything that the Father wouldn’t do. This is incredible, for if Jesus can’t do anything that God wouldn’t do, then Jesus can’t sin. Notice Jesus didn’t say, “He shouldn’t,” or “He didn’t,” He said he couldn’t. This, my friend, is empirical proof. And if Jesus could not sin, that proves He was no mere human being. In fact, it implies that Jesus Christ was theo-anthropos — fully God and fully man.

JESUS IS NOT GOD?!- Finally…
Now finally notice this, the text says that the Son does everything the Father does. Again, this is amazing. “Like Father, like Son” — that’s precisely the point, everything God does, Jesus does. Think about it. If Jesus does everything God does, and only what God does, then doesn’t that make Jesus God? If Jesus does everything that the Father does, how can Jesus Christ be less than God?

JESUS IS NOT GOD?!- Conclusion
So you see, far from disproving the Deity of Christ, John 5:19 is one of the most powerful proof texts for His deity. On John 5:19, that’s the CRI Perspective. I’m Hank Hanegraaff.